Brexit: the Cabinet divided over the length of the delay

"We are still discussing the state of the party, not the country."

"It's like the last days of Rome." "It's chaos."

On the outside, the government is about to send a letter to the European Union before the negotiations in Brussels at some point, the final draft to be completed by the Prime Minister in the morning and his team of advisors.

The letter will outline the kind of delay the government is seeking with respect to the Brexit process.

The delay and the next steps of our departure were the subject of a 90-minute discussion in Cabinet this morning.

But the ministers and the councilors inside have a rather different vision of what is happening.

Number 10 is, again, sitting at the top of a cabinet that can not get along with itself, unable, or perhaps more interested, to drive it to a definite conclusion.

As the Chancellor politely described this afternoon in the minutes: "People have different points of view".

In other words, the Cabinet is still divided, with some ministers saying that a long delay is necessary.

Thus, as the "best thing for the country" today emphasizes, it is that someone else takes control of the Order Paper to move to a customs union "- translate, do a long pause on the Brexit so that Parliament can make its way to a milder Brexit.

Others, like the House leader, who according to sources have strongly pleaded today, believe that the government should request a deadline, and then arrange to leave without formal agreement with the government. EU, after having had more time to prepare.

A minister who was in the room suggested that the Prime Minister had given the impression of asking the EU for an extension until the end of June, with the option (you guessed it) of an option " preventive measure "of up to two years.

But another minister said they had left the meeting, considering that no judgment had been handed down.

Another insider was upset by the frustration that, according to them, Theresa May once again did not articulate what she really wanted to do, and allowed the Conservative Party, and of course Parliament – and more importantly the rest from the country – to twist in the wind while she rolls.

There is also, as always, a group of less theological ministers who try to help manage competing factions, although some of their backcountry colleagues believe that they are just pbadive pbadengers.

In case you need to recall it, delaying the Brexit goes against the promise that Ms. May has made so many times.

And how long is of course a matter of utmost importance for the country, and can also have an impact on the fact that the government has a real chance of finally getting the EU compromise agreement adopted in Parliament for too long .

It is still possible that this will happen and when that happens, it happens quite quickly.

But the government's last nightmare about delays has virtually destroyed the idea that it is almost impossible for this administration to draw meaningful conclusions about Brexit, as the divisions that reign are deep.

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Officially, the Downing Street sources have denied any definite conclusion of the schedule, although the Prime Minister has repeatedly asked that she do so as soon as possible and has repeatedly referred to the short "technical" extension of the 30 June.

They say that there was no final decision.

For Ms. May's growing number of critics in her own government, it's exactly the goal.